Loose-pulley lubricator.



No. 888,884. Patented nee. n, 19m. F. .1. mPPL.

LOOSE PULLEY LUBRICATOR.

(Application led Dec. 22, 1900.)

(No Model.)

Nrrnn STATES FRANCIS J. RIPPL, on cosnocToN, onio, AssieNoR or ONE-HALFTo SAMUEL M. WILLIAMS,

OF COSIIOOTON, OIlIO.

LoosE-PULLEY LusalcAToa.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,884, dated December1'7, 1901. Application filed December 22,1900. Serial No. 40,811. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, FRANCIS J. RIPPL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ooshocton, in the county of Coshocton and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Loose-PulleyLubricators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to lubricators of the type for automaticallyoiling loose pulleys, trolley-wheels, and analogous rotating parts.

The object of the invention is the provision of a device of thecharacter aforesaid which will supply the oil in determinate quantity,according to speed and work, and only when the part carrying thelubricator is in action, the feed ceasing when the part comes to rest,thereby preventing waste of oil.

The lubricator may be a part of the pulley orV other rotary device to beoiled or may be separate therefrom and constructed with a view of beingattached thereto, the size and shape being immaterial so long as theessential features -are preserved.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and alsoto acquire aknowledge of the details of construction of the means foreffecting the result reference is to be had to the following descriptionand drawings hereto attached.

Vhile the essential and characteristic features of the invention arenecessarily susceptible of modication, still the preferred embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a side elevation of a lubricator embodying the invention,showing it applied. Fig. 2 is a section on the line X X of Fig. l. Fig.3 is an enlarged section of the feed-tube and adj unctive parts, showingthe relation of the latter when the oil is cut oif. Fig. 4 is a Viewsimilar to Fig. 3, showing the relative disposition of the parts Whenthe valve is unseated to admit oil to the part to be lubricated.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The lubricator consists of a hollow body l, which constitutes thereservoir or fount for containing the lubricant to be fed to the movingsurfaces to be oiled. This body or reservoir may be of any form andsize, according to the required capacity and specific purpose for whichit is designed. In the preferable construction the reservoir or body isof annular formation, whereby the pulley or other part to which thelubricator is applied is not thrown out of balance. Within the purviewof the invention it is unimportant whether the reservoir is an integralpart of the pulley or rotating part or is separate therefrom and adaptedto be attached thereto. As shown, the lubricator is in the nature of anattachment and is of circular outline. The lugs 2, applied to the bodyof the lubricator, are apertured and receive fastenings, by means ofwhich the device is adapted to be connected to the spokes of a pulley orother rotating part. It is to be understood in this connection that anysuitable means may be resorted to for attaching the lubricator to thepart with which it cooperates. l

The feeding mechanism consists of a tube 3, exteriorly threaded andprovided at its outer end with a square portion 4, adapted to receive awrench, Spanner, or other tool, by means of which the tube is tightenedand loosened in the manner presently to be described. A transverseopening 5 intersects the bore 6 of the tube and constitutes a duct oroil-passage. A valveseat 7 is provided in the length of the tube at aconvenient point and coperates with the valve 8 to cut oft' the supplyof lubricant when the pulley or other rotating part is at rest, therebypreventing waste of the oil. The valve 8 may be of any desiredconstruction and is mounted so as to have a limited movement within thetube 3, and, as shown, the valve is preferably a ball, thereby obviatngthe necessity of providing means to insure a square seating of thevalve, which would be necessary if of the puppet or other type. ThisValve has a limited movement between its seat 7 and an adjustable stop,which in the present instance is a setscrew 9, threaded into a sleevel0, fitted into the outer end of the tube 3 and havin ga screw- By aproper thread connection therewith.

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manipulation of the set-screw 9 the movement of t-he valve 8 can becontrolled, soas to regulate the flow or feed of the lubricant to thepart to be oiled. Should it be del5 sirable to hold the valve seated forany purpose or from any cause, the set-screw 9 can be turned up, so asto bear against the valve S. In order to accommodate the valve, setscrew9, sleeve 10, and spring 11, the outer' end portion of thebore 6 isenlarged, the base or inner cnd of the enlargement constituting thevalve-seat. The outer end of the sleeve is made square or otherwiserconstructed to enable a Wrench or like tool to be fitted thereto when itis required to move the sleeve either inward or outward. The spring 10is of the coil type and surrounds the inner end portion of the set-screw9 and is confined between the valve 8 and the inner end of the sleeve 10and exerts a pressure upon the valve to hold it seated under normalconditions. Upon screwing the sleeve 10 inward the tension of the springl1 is increased, and greater force is required to unseat the valve 8,and upon backing the sleeve 10 the tension upon the'spring 11 islessened, thereby enabling the valve 8 to be unseated by a less force.The tube 3 is threaded into openings formed in coincident relation inthe inner and outer walls of the reservoir or body 1, and its inner endis adapted to enter an opening 12, formed in the hub or bearing 13 ofthe pulley or other part to be lubricated. The tube 3, in addition toforming an essential part of the feeding mechanism, also serves tosecure the lubricator to the part to be oiled. Filling-pieces 14 areinterposed between the inner wall of the body 1 and the outer surface ofthe hub 13 When the diameter of the inner circle of the lubrioator isgreater than the diameter of the outer circle of the said hub. Thesefilling-pieces 14 may be integral with the reservoir 1 or separatetherefrom, as desired. After the lubricator is placed in position uponthe hub 13 it is secured by means of the tube 3, which is screwed inwarduntil its inner end enters the outer enlarged end of the opening 12 andcreates a binding action sufficient to hold the device firmly in 5oplace.

As previously stated,the valve 8 is normally held seated by the actionof the spring 11, or when the lubrioator has acquired a given speed thevalve 8 under centrifugal action leaves its seat and permits the oil inthe reservoir to pass therefrom to the part to be lubricated through theopening 5 and bore 6 of the tube 3. Vhere the speed of the lubricator iscomparatively low, the tension of the spring 11 is required to be lightin order to admit of the unseating of the valve 8, and where the speedof the lubrioator is high the tension of the spring 11 should begreater, so as to prevent the unseating of the valve under abnormalconditions. A greater or less amount of oil may be fed to the part to belubricated at a given time by adjusting the set-screw 9, so as to varythe size of the oilpassage between the Valve and its seat.

The lubricator maybe plain or ornamental and may be constructed solelyof metal or partly of metal and glass, the latter admitting of theinterior being observed at all times.

To replenish the reservoir, an opening is formed in a side thereof whichis closed by means of a plug 14', having a tubular stem 15 threaded intothe said opening, and'said stem having a side opening 16 to receive'thespout of a can by means of which the oil is supplied to the lubricatorwhen desired. When lling the reservoir, the plug lll is unscrewed asufiicient distance to expose the opening 16, and after the requiredamount of lubricant has been poured into the reservoir the plug 14 isscrewed up until its head bears against the side of the reservoir andcompletely closes the opening through which the oil is supplied.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In acentrifugal lubricator, a reservoir, a feed-tube for conveying thelubricant from the outer portion of the reservoir to the part to belubricated, an inwardly-seating valve for controlling the oil-passageand adapted to be unseated by centrifugal action, a spring for holdingthe valve seated, and means for regulating the tension of vsaid springto` hold the valve seated against any required centrifL ugal force,substantially as specified.

2. In combination, a reservoir, an oil-supplying tube, aninwardly-seating valve for controlling the passage through said tube andadapted to be unseated by centrifugal action, a spring for holding saidvalve seated,a sleeve having adjustable connection with the oiltube andadapted to regulate the tension of the said spring,and astop forlimiting the play of the valve and passing through the said sleeve,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS J. RIPPL.

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